It may have been slightly overambitious week: just a quick flight to Peru, trek 50 miles, a quick stop a Machu Picchu, rest in Cusco, then fly home. After the inevitable flight changes, we arrived in Cusco sleep deprived and breathless. After a day exploring, we made our plans for the Salkantay trek while sipping Cusquenos on an ancient balcony overlooking the square. It was hard to leave Cusco, the food was incredible, the people, and architecture captivating.
After the typical 3am Peru start, we began the long bus ride to the start of the trek at Mollepata. Most other trekkers were with organized tours, but we had decided to go independently, which meant carrying our own camping gear. A long climb brought us to Sorypampa where we camped in a funny little hut in a horse corral. After waiting out an impressive thunderstorm, we took an afternoon hike to the beautiful Lago Humantay. The altitude here made everything difficult. The next day we made the big ascent over the 6,000m Salkantay pass, enjoying incredible views of Nevado Salkantay. It poured rain as we descended the pass, so we were grateful to find hot showers and good food at Pablitos place in Chaullay. After 2 days of cold high altitude mountains, we descended into the hot humid rain forest. We camped at a small coffee farm the following day and enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner of chicken and refreshing Inca Kola (looks like pee, tastes like bubble gum). The final day of hiking took us over a high pass to the Inca ruins of Llaqtapata before a steep descent to Aquas Calientes and Machu Picchu. After a long walk and incredible scenery, we were prepared for Machu Picchu to be somewhat disappointing, especially when we arrived at 6am in thick clouds. We wandered past the masses of other tourists waiting at the most popular viewpoint for the clouds to part and found ourselves nearly alone in the ruins except for a few of the resident alpaca. The huge stonework loomed in the mist. Then on cue the clouds parted, and Machu Picchu revealed itself. It was magical.
